PORTLAND - Residents began this week moving into The Casey condominiums, on track to be the first multifamily residential building in the United States to receive LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of green building.

The Casey is a 16-story building with 61 luxury homes in the heart of Portland's Pearl District, steps from art galleries, restaurants and boutiques. The building incorporates a comprehensive array of sustainable features including solar panels, a green roof and the extensive use of recycled-content and sustainable materials such as wool carpets and FSC-certified wood flooring. It also has a host of energy efficiency features including sophisticated waste heat recovery ventilators in each unit that help the building achieve a 52 percent energy savings over code.

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"The Casey is a bright green building, which means it sacrifices nothing in terms of either sustainability or lifestyle," says Mark Edlen, managing principal of project developer Gerding Edlen Development. "This will be our third completed LEED Platinum building and we're pushing beyond Platinum to develop buildings over the next four years that generate more energy than they use and consume more waste than they produce."

Gerding Edlen Development has a total of 37 LEED-certified and pending projects including four Platinum, 23 Gold and 13 Silver, more than any other private developer in the country. The firm is an innovator of cutting-edge, sustainable techniques and is driving change in building codes and standard practices from L.A. to Seattle. The Casey is one of three Gerding Edlen LEED Platinum projects within several blocks. The other two are the Gerding Theater, a historic renovation of a former munitions armory that opened last year, and a historic office renovation that will break ground next year.

The Casey is also an example of outstanding architecture and public art. It includes original art glass throughout the building featuring the work of different Pacific Northwest glass artists. The facade of the building incorporates a textured glass spire that extends from the second floor to above the green roof. This works represents a collaboration of internationally known Bullseye Glass and GBD Architects. Photos are available at www.gerdingedlen.com/project.php?id=22.

Note: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the U.S. Green Building Council's national certification program for sustainable building. www.usgbc.org.